One of the unchallenged axioms of American civicreligion is that each and every group of people on earth mustconsist of an “overwhelmingly vast majority of decenthard-working honest people who want peace and are tolerantand freedom-loving and anti-violence.”

It is an unchallengeable presumption of this theologythat “vast majorities” of not only each and everyracial/religious/ethnic group may be so described, but even vastmajorities of each and any subgroup within society. Hence weeven sometimes hear assertions that the vast majority ofprisoners, prostitutes, drug users, gang members, etc. are alsodecent, honest, peace-loving, honorable people.

The one imponderable in American civic theology is theidea that somewhere there just might be a group of people themajority of whom are not peace-loving or honest or tolerant.But the simple fact of the matter is that the overwhelminglyvast majority of Arabs are not opposed to violence.

Acknowledging this could not be more timely.Commentator after commentator in

the Western media discuss the reactions in the Muslim world tothe U.S. bombings of terror facilities in Iraq and Afghanistanwith the self-righteous fawning observation that Islam is areligion of peace, that the terrorists are as unrepresentative oftrue Islam as IRA bombers are

of Christianity. Each commentator goes out of his way toemphasize how we all understand that the vast majority ofMuslims oppose terrorism and violence.

The only problem with this is that it is simply false. Thevast majority of Germans supported Hitler, supported wars ofaggression, and supported genocide. The vast majorities ofHutus and Tutsis support massacres of the other. Similarly, thevast majority of Arabs support terror and violence and war.They do not see anything wrong with the blowing up ofhundreds of

civilians in an embassy of the United States or of an officebuilding of Argentine Jews. They see any act of force takenagainst the perpetrators of such things to be itself a crime. (Thisis not to say that the vast majority of each and every subgroupof Muslims support such barbarism; the

Turks and Malays come to mind as possible exceptions.)

Islam is a religion of peace for Muslims and forsubordinated non-Muslims living

under the clear domination of Muslims.

The vast majority of Muslims do not personally engagein violence and terror in their daily lives. The vast majority ofGermans did not take personal part in the Holocaust. Indeed,

as a blanket statement regarding Arabs in Israel, I would saythat most Arabs behave in a far more polite daily manner thanJews, exhibiting on average far better manners and moreconsideration than do Jewish Israelis. But of course that ishardly the point.

The vast majority of Muslims support the random andindiscriminate use of terror and violence against Jews andagainst Americans. The reactions of Muslims everywhere arethere on the TV screens for all to see. The vast majority ofArabs openly or secretly approved of Bin Laden's campaign ofterror against Americans, including the bombing of the WorldTrade

Center. Arab political thought is fundamentally Orwellian:murder is resistance, prevention of murder or retaliation formurder is terror. Muslims were outraged by events in theBalkans because Muslims were being massacred; if Bosniansand Albanians were massacring Serbs, they would have troublehiding their approval.

We have known for decades that the vast majority ofMuslims also approve of Palestinian atrocities and bombingsdirectly against Jews. There is no act of savagery directedagainst Israelis or Jews of which they will not approve byenormous majorities, and no act of defense by Israel that theywill legitimize.

Public opinion polls are not conducted in most Muslimcountries, but if they were they would no doubt reflect thispopular approval. Polls are conducted among Palestinians andthey show without exception that most Palestinians approve ofsuicide bombings and other atrocities committed against Jews.The vast majority of Palestinians supported Saddam Hussein.The vast majority support Al-Qaeda. The vast majority wouldapprove if Iran dumped chemical weapons or nerve gas on TelAviv. The majority think Hitler was a hero. These are thepeople with whom Oslo and the road map are supposed toproduce peace.

Oh, you might object, but Arafat denounced Bin ladenand even endorsed the U.S. bombings in Sudan andAfghanistan. Well, yes he did, no doubt hoping to get the U.S.to force Israel to make a few more concessions as a quid proquo, and he was no doubt as sincere as were the IRA folks whodenounced the bombing of Omagh. But the Palestinian fascisthordes, taking their signals from the PLO, know he is posturingand winking and these folks support terrorism byoverwhelming majorities.

The entire Oslo peace process and road map peaceprocesses are based on the naive American civic dogma(adopted by Israeli politicians) holding that the vast majority of

About the Author:Steven Plaut is a professor at the University of Haifa. He can be contacted at steveneplaut@yahoo.com.

If you don't see your comment after publishing it, refresh the page.

Our comments section is intended for meaningful responses and debates in a civilized manner. We ask that you respect the fact that we are a religious Jewish website and avoid inappropriate language at all cost.

If you promote any foreign religions, gods or messiahs, lies about Israel, anti-Semitism, or advocate violence (except against terrorists), your permission to comment may be revoked.